USC guard Jordan Usher (1) shouts as the grabs a rebound in front of Arizona State forward Romello White (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State guard Shannon Evans II celebrates his game-tying 3-pointer in the final minute of Thursday’s game against USC in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Arizona State guard Tra Holder, right, lines up a shot before sinking the go-ahead score as USC forward Chimezie Metu (4) and Arizona State forward Romello White, second from right, watch during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State guard Tra Holder, middle, looks to pass the ball as USC’s Bennie Boatwright (25) and Chimezie Metu (4) defend during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State forward Romello White (23) battle with USC guard Elijah Stewart (30) for a loose ball as USC forward Nick Rakocevic, middle, looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley looks up after a turnover by his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against USC on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State guard Tra Holder (0) drives past USC forward Nick Rakocevic (31) for a score during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

USC forward Bennie Boatwright (25) dribbles the ball against Arizona State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State guard Tra Holder (0) grabs a rebound against USC as Arizona State forward Vitaliy Shibel, right, looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley argues with an official during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against USC on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

USC guard Jordan Usher (1) pauses on the court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

USC guard Jordan McLaughlin (11) dribbles the ball against Arizona State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

USC forward Bennie Boatwright (25) grabs a rebound in front of Arizona State forward Mickey Mitchell (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State fans cheer on their team during the first half of Thursday’s game against USC in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

USC coach Andy Enfield, left, argues with an official during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State guard Tra Holder (0) points to a teammate after scoring during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Southern California Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State forward Romello White pauses on the court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against USC on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State forward Romello White (23) battle with USC forward Bennie Boatwright, right, for a loose ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona State guard Kodi Justice (44) dribbles the ball against USC during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The Arizona State bench celebrates a go-ahead score with 1.6 seconds left by guard Tra Holder during the second half of Thursday’s game against USC in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

USC forward Bennie Boatwright (25) walks back to the bench as Arizona State guard Shannon Evans II (11) and other players gather around guard Tra Holder, third from left, after Holder sank the go-ahead shot during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. ASU won 80-78. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Tra Holder banked in a short jumper with 1.6 seconds to play, and Arizona State scored the last nine points of the game to stun USC 80-78 on Thursday night.

The Trojans had the final possession but couldn’t get off a shot from near half-court.

Holder’s 22 points led the Sun Devils (18-6, 6-6 Pac-12 Conference), who won the opener of a two-game conference set for the first time this season after losing five in a row. Shannon Evans added 21 points.

The Sun Devils missed 12 free throws for the game and went five minutes without a field goal late in the second half after cutting the USC lead to one. But USC didn’t score in the final 2:28 and committed three turnovers during that stretch.

Evans drilled a deep 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play to tie the score at 78. Then Arizona State rebounded a Trojans miss to set up the winning play. Holder delivered, banking in an off-balance floater to the left of the lane.

“Most definitely I wanted to take the last shot, or close to the last shot,” Holder, a senior point guard from Brentwood High, told Arizonasports.com. “And then when I got in the lane, I saw No. 4 (Chimezie Metu) waiting for me so I kind of had to shoot a little fadeaway shot.

“We work on those shots all the time.”

Evans scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including five three-pointers.

“I felt like the ball was going in for me in the second half. I had some room,” he told Arizonasports.com. “You know what I’m saying. Cash. That was the only thing that was going through my head at that time. Cash. I got to make that happen.”

The Sun Devils trimmed the USC lead to 67-66 on an Evans 3-pointer with 7:11 to play, but the Trojans had an answer. They scored the next eight points, capped by Boatwright’s 3-pointer, for a 75-66 lead at the 5:02 mark.

Boatwright, who’d struggled to get into a rhythm early in the game, held his follow-through high for the crowd to see as he back-pedaled on defense.

The Trojans were out of sorts in the first half, falling behind 9-2 on a corner 3-pointer from Holder. USC didn’t score for nearly six minutes after making its first shot of the game.

But the Trojans rallied to take a 24-20 lead after an 8-0 run. Then Boatwright got hot for USC, and his 3-pointer with 1:05 to go in the half gave the Trojans a 37-29 lead.

Boatwright, a 6-foot-10 junior, scored all 10 of his 12 first-half points in the final 2:40 of the half. Holder had 10 at halftime for the Sun Devils.

BIG PICTURE

USC: The Trojans missed a golden opportunity to move into a first-place tie with 13th-ranked Arizona after the Wildcats lost at home to UCLA on Thursday. Now they face the Wildcats in Tucson on Saturday.

ARIZONA STATE: After facing UCLA and Arizona, both at home, in its next two games, the Sun Devils finish the conference season with two of their four remaining games against teams near the bottom of the standings – Oregon State and Cal. Arizona State, with a good run of conference wins, still has a shot at a top-four seed and first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament.

NEED FOR SPEED

IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan and Simon Pagenaud, in town for local track testing, were the latest celebrity types to be featured in the infamous Curtain of Distraction, a tactic of Arizona State students used to razz opposing free throw shooters.

HIGHLIGHT REEL

Arizona State’s Vitaly Shibel, a starter, entered the game averaging just 1.3 points per game in conference play. But he delivered a powerful two-handed follow dunk of a missed shot just before the halftime buzzer cut USC’s lead to 37-33.